Day 334 - (3/30) Today we have breakfast at the Hotel in Williams, then we are off for a long drive back to Albuquerque. We are making great time, so we stop for a short while and see Painted Desert National Park and both boys work on their Jr. Ranger badges while we are there. That makes a total of 4 for this trip.

The coach is in the shop and has been since we left there to head to Grand Canyon. Two of the hydraulic hoses broke which are needed for the jacks. We are hoping that they will have it done soon. We worked it out so that we can sleep in the coach outside the RV fix-it shop and then we will leave it with them while we drive the kids back tomorrow to Raton, NM ( another 200 mile drive to meet Heather and Thomas who came down from Denver). We have to be back at the RV shop before 5:00 pm to pick it up, so it's a drive-by drop off when we get to Raton

. Long story short, instead of leaving on Tuesday we don't leave until 1:00 p.m on Thursday.

Day 338 - (4/3) We are on our way out of Albuquerque, finally - and the strong winds that we have had quite a bit lately. Our destination today is Elephant Butte, just outside of Truth or Consequences, NM.(Love that name - famous for its hot springs and named after the popular game show after a contest). Very cute RV park nestled in the hills overlooking a lake and the mountain known as Elephant Butte. I was sitting in the front of the coach when a huge jack rabbit ran in front of me. Wow! That would have been good in my road-kill cooker (unfortunately, it wasn't dead)...and I wasn't about to...ok enough.

Day 339 - (4/4) we are headed to El Paso for the night. Saw my first Swainson's Hawk flying high. Much lighter than the hawks we are used to seeing. We pass Las Cruces, several acres of Pecan groves and lots of open spaces and small towns that didn't really make it. Not a lot going on in this section of west Texas.

Day 340 - (4/5) Today we take a 2 1/2 hour drive to the Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad, NM. It was an amazing place, well worth the drive

. Along the way to Carlsbad, we pass the Guadalupe Mountain National Park.

Carlsbad facts: This is the oldest cave in the States - there are 117 known caves including vast underground chambers. Carlsbad Cavern's was formed 20 M years ago when tectonic activity forced gigantic limestone reef to rise from inland sea - sulfuric acid over time ate away the rock creating caves and passageways. Next the water intruded and left mineral deposits on the walls, floors and ceilings. This resulted in the stalactites and stalagmites. in 1923 Calvin Coolidge declared the caverns a National Monument and in 1930 a National Park.